Milk Street: Tuesday Nights

From one of Epicurious’ Greatest Home Cooks of All Time, deliver creative and delicious weeknight dinners with this quick and easy cookbook for beginners and foodies alike.

At Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, Tuesdays are the new Saturdays. That means every Tuesday Nights recipe delivers big, bold flavors, but the cooking is quick and easy–simple enough for the middle of the week.

Kimball and his team of cooks and editors search the world for straightforward techniques that deliver delicious dinners in less time. Here they present more than 200 solutions that will transform your weeknight cooking, showing how to make simple, healthy, delicious meals using pantry staples and just a few other ingredients. Here are some of the fresh, inventive meals that come together in minutes:

Miso-Ginger Chicken Salad

Rigatoni Carbonara with Ricotta

Vietnamese Meatball Lettuce Wraps

Peanut-Sesame Noodles

White Balsamic Chicken with Tarragon

Seared Strip Steak with Almond-Rosemary Salsa Verde

Chocolate-Tahini Pudding

Tuesday Nights is organized by the way you cook. Some chapters focus on time–with recipes that are Fast (under an hour, start to finish), Faster (45 minutes or less), and Fastest (25 minutes or less). Others highlight easy methods or themes, including Supper Salads, Roast and Simmer and Easy Additions. And there’s always time for pizza, tacos, “walk-away” recipes, one-pot wonders, ultrafast 20-minute miracles, and dessert.

Chili Chicken Tacos

Start to Finish: 45 Minutes | Servings: 4

Chilorio, a pulled pork from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, inspired this dish. But instead of the traditional pork shoulder, we used faster-cooking chicken thighs. Fresh orange juice amplified the fruity notes of the guajillo chilies while giving the sauce a natural sweetness; a little vinegar and honey helped balance the flavors. Serve the chicken with Mexican rice or tortillas, or use it as a filling for tacos. Diced white onion, sliced radishes and/or crumbled queso fresco are excellent garnishes.

Don’t forget to trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs before cooking to prevent the dish from being greasy.

In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, toast the chilies, pressing with a wide metal spatula and flipping halfway through, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and pour in the juice; press on the chilies to submerge. Let stand until the chilies have softened, about 10 minutes. Set the skillet aside.

In a blender, combine the chilies and juice, garlic, vinegar, coriander, honey, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Puree until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour the puree into the same skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high. Nestle the chicken into the sauce, cover and cook over medium-low, stirring and flipping the chicken halfway through, until a skewer inserted into the chicken meets no resistance, about 20 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a large plate and set aside until cool enough to handle, 10 to 15 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred into bite-size pieces. While the chicken cools, bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high and cook, stirring, until thickened and reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Stir the shredded chicken into the sauce, then taste and season with salt.

What's Inside

Praise

One of the Best Books of the Year: The Atlantic, Amazon, Food52, NPR, Washington Post, Barnes & Noble, Boston Globe, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Philadelphia Inquirer, Seattle Times, New Hampshire Public Radio

"A well-tested book that turns the Tuesday-night recipe on its head... uses bright and bold flavors and smart techniques that allow even a modestly competent cook to eat well in the middle of the week... my Tuesday-night game was never going to be the same."—Kim Severson, New York Times

"Underscores how home cooks are changing up weeknight meals with flavors from around the world... for millions of home cooks, the thrill of the global pantry is the next big step in the kitchen... getting at the best and most efficient method that the home cook can duplicate... These are recipes, Milk Street guarantees, that work.—Houston Chronicle

"Wondering what to cook on a weeknight that could possibly be faster or better than takeout? Look no further... [than] this decidedly inventive, omnivorous, and international collection... the 200-plus recipes, each under a page and accompanied by a full-page photo, include start-to-finish (active and inactive) time estimates and, when applicable, 'don't' notes that discourage common pitfalls."—Booklist